Most individuals buy and use a hair shampoo for its cleansing properties. In addition to having clean hair, the consumer also desires sufficiently-conditioned hair that holds a preset configuration. However, hair shampoos generally are formulated with highly effective synthetic surfactants, like anionic surfactants, that primarily clean as opposed to conditioning the hair. Therefore, shampoos usually neither aid in the detangling of wet hair nor impart any residual conditioning benefits to dry hair, such as manageability or styleability of hair sets.
Consequently, the hair normally is left in a cosmetically-unsatisfactory state after washing with an anionic surfactant-based hair shampoo Anionic surfactants not only remove the dirt and soil from the hair, but also remove essentially all of the sebum naturally present on the surface of the hair fibers. Therefore, it was found that the desirable properties of anionic surfactants that effectively clean the hair also serve to leave the hair in a cosmetically-unsatisfactory condition. In general, hair shampoo compositions containing anionic surfactants, or non-ionic surfactants or amphoteric surfactants, leave the hair with an undesirable harsh, dull and dry touch, or feel, usually called "creak", after the hair is shampooed and then rinsed with water.
Furthermore, thoroughly cleansed hair also is extremely difficult to comb, in either the wet or the dry state, because the individual hair fibers tend to snarl, kink, and interlock with each other. In addition, incompletely dried hair, such as hair dried with a towel, has poor brushing properties, and after complete drying, the hair does not set well. Furthermore, the combing or brushing property of the hair remains poor, and the hair has undesirable electrostatic properties in a low humidity atmosphere that causes the hair to "fly away", thereby further reducing the brushing properties of the hair. The unsatisfactory combing or brushing property of hair immediately after shampooing, or during trimming treatments after shampooing, also causes hair damage, such as split ends or hair breakage In addition, the natural luster and resiliency of the hair is reduced. Consequently, the overall unsatisfactory condition of the shampooed hair usually necessitates a subsequent post-shampoo treatment of the hair with a special conditioning composition to improve these undesirable physical characteristics. These conditioning compositions normally are applied separately from the hair shampoo, and usually are rinses or cream-like lotions containing a cationic compound
Therefore', consumer needs traditionally have been met by the application of a shampoo to cleanse the hair, followed by the application of a conditioner composition to improve wet combing. The commonly accepted method has been to shampoo the hair, followed by rinsing the hair, and then separately applying a conditioner composition, followed by a second rinse. As previously discussed, freshly shampooed hair is inclined to knot and tangle, and therefore is difficult to comb and difficult to manage. The wet combing problem has been solved by treating shampooed hair with a conditioner composition that coats the hair shaft and causes the individual hair shafts in a tress to resist tangling and matting because of the conditioner residue retained on the shaft.
However, the need for improved compositions that condition the hair, i.e., renders the hair more manageable, has long been recognized in the art. As previously discussed, it is well-known that anionic surfactants are suitable for hair shampooing, and that cationic compounds, like cationic surfactants and cationic polymers, are useful as hair conditioners. Therefore, cationic compounds that are substantive to hair usually are used to complete the hair cleansing and hair conditioning cycle. The ability of cationic compounds to adsorb or react with the keratinous material of the hair makes them the most desirable compounds for imparting the desired improvement in wet hair detangling and dry hair manageability. However, hair conditioning compositions including cationic compounds that adsorb particularly strongly to the hair also can reduce the elasticity, body and set of the dried hair. Therefore, although conditioning compositions for application to freshly shampooed hair are well known, new and improved conditioning formulations based on cationic compounds are continually sought. Consequently, the present invention is directed to a new hair conditioning composition comprising a combination of suitable hair-conditioning ingredients that improve the wet combing and dry combing properties of hair and also leaves the dry hair with satisfactory cosmetic properties and physical properties, including, in particular, elasticity, manageability, body, sheen and set.
Hair conditioning compositions, such as creme rinses, are well known in the art for improving the combing properties of wet hair and dry hair. These conditioning compositions typically are aqueous emulsions including a cationic compound, like a quaternary ammonium compound, as the principal conditioning agent. The prior art describes the quaternary ammonium compound either as a polymeric material having a plurality of quaternary nitrogen atoms per molecule or as a molecule having at least one long carbon atom chain and an average of one quaternary nitrogen atom per molecule. The prior art also describes hair conditioning compositions as including silicon-containing compounds, substituted amines and amides, non-ionic surfactants, long carbon chain alcohols, and other ingredients to facilitate composition formulation and enhance consumer appeal
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,744 to Cella et al discloses that cationic compounds, such as quaternary ammonium compounds, and silicones can be combined with perfluorinated compounds to provide hair treatment compositions. The silicones specifically disclosed by Cella et al are surfactant-like polyoxyethylene polymethylsiloxanes that are presumed to be water-soluble or dispersible. According to Cella et al, both the quaternary ammonium compounds and the silicones are utilized in relatively small amounts, e.g., about 0.05 weight percent of the composition. Other prior art patents disclosing the use of silicones having viscosities greater than about 100 centistokes at 25.degree. C. to provide lubricity or sheen to various cosmetic preparations, include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,942,008; 3,594,409; 3,824,303; and 4,014,995.
British Pat. No. 1,598,567 further discloses the use of linear or cyclic, volatile polydimethylsiloxanes, i.e., having a boiling point in the range of 99.degree. C. to 265.degree. C., in hair conditioning compositions. The composition of British Pat. No. 1,598,567 is described as avoiding the formation of an oleophilic hair surface that usually occurs when using a quaternary ammonium hair conditioning agent South African patent application 666,421 also teaches the use of compositions containing straight chain and volatile cyclic silicone fluids to provide gloss and conditioning effects to hair dressings.
Nachtigal et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,055, discloses a pearlescent hair conditioner composition including a quaternized tertiary amidoamine, a quaternary ammonium compound and, optionally, a tertiary amidoamine, i.e., stearamidoethyldiethylamine. The composition of Nachtigal et al is directed to achieving a stable pearlescent effect and includes neither the low molecular weight polydimethylsiloxane nor the combination of a water-soluble quaternary ammonium compound and an oil-soluble quaternary ammonium compound of the present invention.
Bolich et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,825, discloses an aqueous hair conditioning composition comprising a volatile hydrocarbon or volatile silicone, a cationic hair conditioning agent and a non-ionic thickening agent. Similarly, Bolich et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,375, discloses a hair conditioning composition comprising a volatile hydrocarbon or a volatile silicone, a non-ionic thickening agent, a quaternary ammonium salt and a salt of a fatty amine. Neither Bolich et al patent teaches or suggests using a combination of an oil-soluble cationic hair conditioning agent with a water-soluble cationic hair conditioning agent, together with a volatile polydimethylsiloxane and an amidoamine compound to provide the hair conditioning composition of unexpected efficacy of the present invention. Bolich, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,090, also discloses a hair conditioner composition comprising a volatile hydrocarbon or a volatile silicone conditioning agent and a hydrophobic thickening agent. Other prior art references relating to the use of a volatile agent in hair conditioning compositions include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,577,528; 3,932,610; and 3,818,105.
Japanese TKS 57-50909 discloses a hair conditioner composition comprising a volatile silicone and a combination of two quaternary ammonium salts,
wherein each quaternary ammonium salt includes two long chain alkyl groups. As required by Japanese TKS 57-50909, both quaternary ammonium salts are oil-soluble, wherein the first quaternary ammonium salt includes two alkyl groups each of 16 to 18 carbon atoms, and the second quaternary ammonium salt includes two alkyl groups each of 20 to 22 carbon atoms. Consequently, neither quaternary ammonium salt of Japanese TKS 57-50909 is water soluble, as required by the composition and method of the present invention. Furthermore, Japanese TKS 57-50909 does not teach or suggest using an acid-neutralized amidoamine compound in a composition to impart unexpected hair conditioning properties to hair.
Wagman et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,037 discloses a hair conditioner composition comprising a polydimethyl cyclosiloxane, a sole quaternary-nitrogen containing conditioning agent having two long alkyl chains of twelve to eighteen carbons and two short alkyl chains of one or two carbon atoms, a long chain fatty alcohol and a tertiary amidoamine of the general structural formula (III): ##STR3## wherein R.sub.5 is a fatty chain having from about 11 to about 17 carbon atoms, R.sub.6 is an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms and R.sub.7 is either methyl or ethyl. Wagman et al specifically teaches against using a combination of a water-soluble quaternary ammonium compound and an oil-soluble quaternary ammonium compound in a composition to achieve the improved conditioning properties of the present invention.
As will be demonstrated more fully hereinafter, and in contrast to prior art hair conditioning compositions, a hair conditioner composition of the present invention, comprising a water-soluble quaternary ammonium compound, an oil-soluble quaternary ammonium compound, a low molecular weight polydimethylsiloxane and an acid-neutralized amidoamine compound of general structural formula (I) or (II), unexpectedly imparts improved conditioning properties upon application to human hair Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, hair conditioning properties are surprisingly and unexpectedly improved by a method of contacting the hair with a composition comprising a water-soluble quaternary ammonium compound, an oil-soluble quaternary ammonium compound, a low molecular weight polydimethylsiloxane and an acid-neutralized amidoamine compound of general structural formula (I) or (II). The compositions of the present invention can be applied to the hair from an aqueous or a nonaqueous, such as alcoholic, vehicle at ambient temperature and are allowed to contact the hair for relatively short times to provide the benefits and advantages of a hair conditioner. Consequently, the method and composition of the present invention condition the hair to provide more manageable and esthetically-pleasing hair.